Allan Dixon

Job duties: "To document/film/photograph all the events, festivals, adventures, tours; try "days-in-the-life" of other jobs on cattle stations, bars, hostels; and do as much cool stuff in the Northern Territory of Australia as I can."

Why do you think you were selected for the job? "I really pushed my body and mind to do the best I could—producing numerous videos, getting my friends to rally up support, taking creative photos, and using Twitter to get celebrities' endorsements. "

What are the best perks of the job? "I get to choose the projects myself. If I want to work alongside crocodiles, then I can think up of a cool project that involves Tourism NT and crocodiles. "

What's been the most memorable moment so far? "The most memorable thing happened while on a turtle tracks tour in Darwin. We saved a baby turtle from dehydrating after it hatched. Dug him out of the sand and set him free in the ocean."

Andrew Smith

Job duties: "Traveling throughout Sydney and across the state, uncovering the vast range of festivals, events, and experiences the destination has to offer."

How did you hear about the contest? "I saw an advert for the 'Best Job in the World’ on Facebook. At the time, I was working for an international travel show and thought I already had a cool job. When I saw the lure of experiencing things like New Year's Eve at the Sydney Opera House, all on a salary of $100K, I had to at least try my hand. "

What was the hardest part about the competition? "The hardest part came after making the first cut. More than 124,000 applicants were whittled down to just 25. During the two weeks when we were required to create as much 'buzz' as possible about our campaign for the job, I was working in Austin, Buenos Aires, Nairobi, and Beirut. Not having direct access to my friends and family left me with only social media, and I had to really work hard to compete. "

What do you think of Sydney? "After traveling to 13 countries across six continents just prior, Sydney still blew my mind. There is so much to do and so much unexplored that I'm going to have to work fast to cover it all in just six months. "

Rich Keam

Job euties: "To travel Western Australia foraging out the finest produce and experiencing the best bars, restaurants, cafes, wineries, and micro-breweries—along with all the other amazing adventures you can have here—and blog about it. "

What made you stand out from your competitors? "I tried to keep my blog writing simple and accessible, with quirky stories and interesting angles that people would enjoy reading. "

What has surprised you the most so far? "How absolutely awe-inspiring Australia's Northwest is. How tasty green ants are. And that I've now got a slight addiction to Baby Boab Tuber Chutney. "

What's the hardest part of the job? "To put it quite simply, the hardest part is going to be trying not to end up the size of a house. I've been eating and exploring my way around the Kimberley for the last three weeks, I need to pace myself! "

Chris Heuisler

Job duties: "Coaching Westin guests at three more Rock 'n' Roll races this year. I’m responsible for assisting Westin’s VIP Marathon Package guests throughout their training and, once on the property, ensuring that their stay with us is stress-free so they can focus on the race. For those runners who are not part of the VIP Marathon Package, I’ll be on hand to provide last-minute coaching advice and strategy for the race."

What are the perks of the job? "When my brother and I decided to run a marathon in every state back in 2000, one of the great appeals to this endeavor was that we’d get to travel across the country and experience different cities through running. And now, somehow, I’m getting paid to do that. "

Anything totally unexpected happen? "I’ve been surprised by how open runners are on race weekend. I expected some resistance from the running community as runners can be very private, but to my delight most runners enjoy talking about all of their training and preparation. I learn something new from every runner I meet. "

Asha Mevlana

Job duties: "Our job was to film these top-rated tours so that when someone goes to the Viator site, they can click on a tour video from our trip and get an idea of what the tour would be like. "

What's one thing you learned on your travels? |"Because we were only in each city for three days, we were constantly on the move and living out of our suitcases. I had a very large, heavy suitcase with a bunch of different outfits, shoes, etc. By the end, I had thrown out most of my clothes just to make it easier to run to the train, plane, or taxi because we were always running from place to place trying to not to miss our transportation to the next city. I learned to pack much lighter!"

What was the most memorable thing that on your trip? "On one of the bike tours in Amsterdam, I was filming while biking and trying to get all the shots I needed. And as I was rushing ahead of the tour one time, looking into the camera viewfinder, I crashed into a tree. I was scraped and hurting, but there wasn't time to be hurt, so I just had to keep going."

What happened after you completed the job? Did you want to stay in a related field? "I am a professional musician (electric violin), and, between tours, I have also been doing a lot of hosting work. I recently appeared on a pilot for the Travel Channel called Destination Showdown. I was hired again by Viator to film for two months in Asia and Australia this past year, which was also incredible. I even started a travel blog to start recording my journeys."

Joe Zeiler

Winner: "Best Dive Job in the World" Runner-Up for Blue Season Bali, June 2013—October 2013

Job duties: "Guiding guests around Bali's beautiful dive sites, teaching new divers, and assisting Divemaster trainees. I also teach a variety of PADI specialty courses such as night diving, deep diving, and courses about fish ecology. It is also my job to create content for the Blue Season Bali blog. "

How did you hear about the contest? What made you want to apply? "I came to Blue Season as a guest and saw a poster for the contest on the dive shop wall. As soon as I got home, I started to prepare my entry. Before the competition, I was a high school literature teacher who spent all my vacation time diving. I decided that if I could combine my two passions, teaching and diving, I could live the perfect life! "

What's been the most memorable moment? "I think my most memorable dive was spending 45 minutes in the company of a three-meter sunfish and a group of five-meter manta rays."

What's next after this job is over? "I'm coming to the end of my internship this month. I have fallen in love with Bali and I intend to remain in here working in diving. In the future, I would like to combine my career in diving with my former career in teaching. It would be my dream to teach at an international school and run the student Scuba and Marine Ecology clubs as an extra-curricular."

Kaylin Richardson

Job duties: "To thoroughly enjoy skiing the 4,000 acres at Canyons while residing at the Waldorf Astoria Park City—rough life, right? My obligations were to blog, make videos, and share the experience. "

Why do you think you were selected? "You had to send in a sample blog, resume, and two-minute video to apply. In my submission, my main goal was to be authentic. I had a great run as an athlete, but it is a very self-involved endeavor. Now that I was moving on, I really had the desire to share my love for the mountains with everyone I encountered. My video was super-cheesy, but I meant every word."

What was the best part of the job? "An unbelievable string of powder days. Access to an amazing outdoor, heated pool. Gourmet hot chocolate every day after skiing. Sore cheeks from smiling so much—I could go on, but I think people may start to loathe me because of my good fortune."

And the worst part? "The worst frostbitten feet of my life. I was taking these wonderfully enthusiastic Spaniards—they founded nevasport.com, a really great skiing website—skiing and we were so fired up! Thirty inches of fresh overnight, and there was almost no one on the mountain, in large part because it was seriously frigid. I couldn't feel my feet after the first hour, but I wasn't going to let that make me miss a run—it was the best powder day of my life. I actually made a video about it. From 5 p.m., when my feet started to finally thaw, until 8 p.m., I was in agony. Black toes, dead skin falling off—it was pretty gruesome...but totally worth it. "

Sebastian Smith

Job duties: "I travel all around Europe and North Africa to the First Choice SplashWorld hotels. "

What's surprised you about the job? "I didn’t realize quite how ridiculous some of these water slides would be! At the very first water park I went to, I went on a water slide in which I was locked in a cubicle about 70 feet high. Looking down at the floor, I had to wait nervously, only for a trap door to open leaving me free falling, shooting down the slide at an insane speed."

What's one of your favorite parks so far? "Siam Park in Tenerife was a big surprise. I couldn’t believe how big it was. It’s like a Thailand-themed water park and it’s absolutely amazing. The level of detail across the park is remarkable, and all of the water slides are so over-the-top, they leave you with the biggest smile on your face. Also the lazy river there—longest in the world—is unreal. At one point it turns into a rapid section, resulting in you bobbing along through a tunnel under a shark pool!"

What's been one of the most memorable moments? "One time in Turkey, a tiny little boy went down a slide but then stopped himself halfway because he got too scared. I slid down and stopped along side him and held his hand and went down slowly with him. Stopped him from crying and he was very happy once back in the pool. Felt like a bit of a hero."

Cameron Ernst

Job duties: "I get to be a Brand Ambassador for Virgin Australia. I've already spent one month in training with Virgin Australia learning the business inside out. I'm showcasing the best of Virgin Australia, its partners, and its destinations with a focus on service, food and beverage, and entertainment. "

How did you hear about the contest? What made you want to apply? "I discovered Tourism Australia's Best Job in the World competition on Facebook. I can distinctly remember sitting at home on the couch and finding out more about the contest, talking with my parents—I lived with them before this—about how cool it would be to land one of these jobs in Australia. That night in all of my excitement and dreaming big, I started writing a silly rap as an application video just for the fun of it. One thing led to another, and I found myself shooting the video for it and then submitting. It's pretty crazy to think back on that night when it all started for me. One simple moment and decision to go for it changed my life."

What do you want to do when it's all over? "The biggest thing I've learned from this whole process is that you can't plan your life because you don't know what tomorrow will bring. I was planning on moving to Los Angeles. Now I'm flying around Australia. Who knows what will happen at the end of these six months? "